Atjtomobilist s caution-signal



APPLICATION FILED 0CT.26. I917.

Patented July 13, 1920.

IN [/5 IV TOR nrromms UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. Y

WESLEY W. KUHLMANN, OF WOODCLIFF-ON-HUDSON, NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMOBILISTS CAUTION-SIGN AL.

Application filed October 26, 1917. Serial No. 198,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WESLEY \V. KUHL- MANN, a citizen of the United States and a resident of Voodcliff-on-Hudson, ((nruttenberg post-office), county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Autobomilists Cautiontlignal, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. I

This invention relates to a signal device adapted to be worn by the signaling hand of an automobilist so that in driving at night he can warn the driver of a car in the rear of the fact that he is slowing down to make a stop or a turn.

The invention has for its general objects to Provide an illuminated signal device adapted to be worn by the hand and which can be illuminated whenever desired by the closing of' a switch or thcpressing of a pushbutton, whereby theword Caution. or a red target, or both, may be illuminated, the device being of comparatively simple and inexpensive construction, reliable and efficient n use, and so designed that it can be worn on the back of'the hand in a position to leave the fingers free for steering or any other purpose.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a self-contained or unitary signal device which includes a battery, lamp, switch and signal element to be illuminated, the device being fastened to the back of the handby a strap passing around the palm, and onthe' device'is a pushbutton or switch which is operated by the movement of the middle finger in a backward direction, there being a cut-out switch so that the circuit cannot be closed, even though the pushbutton or switch be pressed or moved to closed circuit position accidentally when the device is laid away.

lVith such objects in view, and others which will appear as the descriptionpro coeds, the invention comprises various novel features-of construction and arrangement of parts which will be 'set forth with particularity in the'following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustratesone embodiment of the invention and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the device strapped to the back of the hand;

will be illuminated.

vided into a circular field 11 of red color Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a rear view with portions broken away; and

Fig. 5 is a top view of the hand showing by dotted lines how the finger is used to close the lamp circuit.

Referring to the drawing, A designates the casing of the device, which has a boxlike compartment 1 in which is placed a dry cell battery B, there being a door 2 at one end through which the battery can be inserted or removed. The casing also comprises a circular compartment 3 which is the lamp or light compartment, there being a partition 4 between the compartments or chambers 1 and 3, and in this partition is a socket 5 for the electric lamp 6. The central contact 7 of thelamp is engaged with. the spring terminal 8 of the battery. The circular portion 3 of the casing has a removable cap 9 which is provided with a transparent disk of celluloid 10, or-the like, which has the word Caution printed or otherwise delineated thereon, so that when the lamp 6 is lighted the word Caution The plate '10 is diwhich is surrounded by a field 12 of green, and the rest of the disk is a field 13 of yellow in which the word Caution appears in the arc of a circle more or less concentric with the red circle or target 11. This cap can be removed and reversely positioned on the circular end of the casing, so that the device can be worn either on the right or left hand and still leave the word Caution right side up. I V

On the back of the circular portion of the casing or lamp box 3 isa movable member or push button llfwhich is fastened to a block of insulation 15 secured rigidly to the wall of the box 3, and this member has a contact 16 normally separated from the wall 17 so that the lamp circuit will not be closed. A cut-out switch in the form of a pivoted contact 18 is fastened by a rivet 19 to the insulation 15. This switch member 18 is covered by a plate of fiber or equivalent material 20 fastened to the backor wall 17 ofthe lamp box, and a handle 21 on the switch member 18 passes through a slot 22 in the plate member 20. vThis switch member 18 can be moved into and out of engagement with the anchor portion. 23 of the circuitmlosing member let. A wire 24- in the lamp box connects the rivet 19 with a fixed contact secured in the battery box 1 and insulated from the wall thereof, the said contact 25 being so located as to be engaged by the spring terminal 26 of the battery 1 The whole device is worn on the back of the hand and is secured in position by a strap 2? which extends around the palm of the hand. This leaves the thumb and fingers free, and still. the device is carried by the hand. The circuit of the lamp is adapted to be closed by extending the middle linger rearwardly, shown in Fig. 5, to engage the push element or contact l i, so as to cause the contact point 16 to bear against the casing, whereby the circuit of the lamp will be completed and the red target and Caution word illuminated.

It may be desirable to use the device as a Searchlight, and for this purpose the peripheral wall of the lamp box has an opening 28 out of which rays of light pass. The switch member 18 can be thrown to the dotted-line position, Fig. st, so as to make permanent contact with the casing and thereby hold the lamp permanently in circuit while the device is used as a Searchlight, or for continuous illumination.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying d 'awing, the advantages of 'the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An automobilists hand signal comprising a casing having an open portion of such size as to substantially cover the greater part of the fingers of the hand, a device adapted to be illuminated and reversibly mounted on the open portion of the casing, a source of current in the casing, a lamp in circuit with the said source, a switch for closing the lamp circuit, and means for fastening the casing to the back of the hand, said reversible device including a translucent )late bearing signal words and colors which are illuminated simultaneously.

2. An automobilists hand signal device, comprising a casing having separate compartments, a battery in one compartment and a lamp in the other, a plate reversibly mounted on said lamp compartment, whereby the device can be worn on either hand, said reversible plate bearing signal words and colors, and a switch for the circuit of the lamp.

A signal device adapted to be worn on the back or the hand, comprising a casing divided into separate compartments, a battery in one compartment, a lamp in the other compartment, the wall of the lamp compartment having an opening, and a reversibly mounted element in said opening illuminated by the lamp and bearing a signal word and signal colors.

l. A device of the class described. adapted to be worn on the back of the hand, said device comprising a casing, a partition dividing the easing into separate compartments, a lamp carried by the iartition, a battery in one compartment while the lamp is m the other compartment, the lamp compartment having av reversibly mounted signal element adapted to be illuminated by the lamp, and a switch on the casing and including a movable element adapted to be engaged by the linger of the hand to permit the lamp circuit to be closed.

5. A device of the class described comprising a casing, a battery therein, a lamp in the casing having a contact engaging a terminal of the battery, a contact in the casing and engaging the other terminal of the battery, a cut-out switch having a movable member connected with the last-mentioned contact, a movable contact arranged outside the casing and withwhich the cut-out switch is adapted to engage, said movable contact being adapted to be pressed into engagement with the casing for closing the lamp circuit, said lamp having one of its contacts grounded on the casing, and a signal element on the casing arranged in cooperative relation with the lamp to be illuminated thereby.

6. A device of the class described adapted to be worn on the back of the hand, said device comprising a casing having a head portion, a cap reversibly applied to the head portionand bearing signal words and colors adapted to be illuminated, a battery in the casing, and a lamp in circuit with the battery for illuminating the said element.

7. An automobilists signal device adapted to be worn on the hand, said device comprising a casing having a lightilluminated element, a lamp in the casing, a battery in the casing having a terminal connected with one terminal of the lamp, and means for connecting the other terminal of the battery with the lamp, said means comprising a yielding member normally in open circuit position and adapted to be engaged by the back of a finger to be moved to closed circuit position, and a switch on the casing and movable into and out of engagement with the said member.

8. In a device of the class described, a casing, a battery therein, a lamp in the easing, one terminal of the lamp being connected with the battery and the other terminal being grounded on the casing, controlling means for connecting the other terminal of the battery with the casing for closing the circuit of the lamp, said means comprising an insulating support attached to the casing, a yielding member on the support and movable into engagement with the casing, a

switch mounted on the support and movable into and out of electrical connection with the said member, and a conducting connection between the said switch and the battery.

9. An automobilists signal device adapted to be worn on the hand, said device comprising a casing having a light illuminated element, a lamp in the casing, a battery in the casing having a terminal connected with one terminal of the lamp, and means for connecting the other terminal of the battery with the lamp, said means comprising a yielding member normally in open circuit positioned and adapted to be engaged by the back of a finger to be moved to close circuit position.

WESLEY W. KUHLLIANN. 

